If content is king, video is the king of content. But there’s video on websites and video on social media. It’s essential to know the difference.
On social media video generates the highest engagement and that’s when the algorithms propel it to the fore. You only have to look at the hours lost to reels to understand its influence.
If you want to use video, it’s essential to make sure it suits the channel. In the scrolling environment viewers are savvy. If your video is seen as selling something it may be swiped away within seconds, so you may want to be careful about making it overproduced and heavily rehearsed. If it’s seen as genuine, informative, useful, and entertaining, it will be watched until it’s not seen that way. If it’s made and posted by the owner of the account – that is, it’s user-generated content – so much the better.
In the scrolling environment this applies to content that people aren’t looking for, that just appears in their feed. When searching online, they are looking for technical or expert information they need for a specific purpose, so the rules are different. In this case, it needs to be professional and present the speaker/expert/product/service in an authoritative light. Casual, stumbling, amateur videos don’t build confidence in a professional brand.
And in both circumstances, this is video’s great strength – brand building. You can build an online persona in which you and your business are seen as established, knowledgeable, clever, and human. People will feel they know you and your business already, which makes the decision to work with you easier. If you do it well.
Of course, you can’t expect results overnight, or for your video to go viral. Anyone who tells you they have the recipe for that is spinning you one. You will need to post regularly to be recognised by the algorithm as a regular user.
In both circumstances, one thing is paramount – your message. You may not get to this up front, because you’re making the video interesting, right? But you want to make sure the purpose of the video is fulfilled making your intended message clear. Why are you making the video? What do you want the viewer to know, think, feel, and do as a result of seeing it?
Here are a few DOs and DON’Ts.
DO:
- Know the purpose of your video.
- Make the message clear.
- Keep it short and use simple, direct, spoken language.
- Be creative about the message – don’t turn it into an advertisement.
- Make it entertaining, informative, and relevant you your target audience.
- Adapt the presentation and video style to the medium.
DON’T
- Waffle on or get bogged down by the details or irrelevant issues.
- Use fussy, distracting sets or props.
- Just keep shooting more and more thinking you’ll get something useful in the end. This just makes the job overwhelming.
The best thing you can do is have an expert guide you through this. Video seems easy now that anyone can prop their phone on the table, turn on a ring light, and hit record. Considering the complex equipment video required less than a decade ago, the phone doesn’t do a bad job. But it doesn’t do a good one, either. Especially in the hands of someone with little knowledge.
A professional not only brings technical expertise, they bring objective powers of observation. They can set you up to look and sound your best. They can tell you if what you’re saying gets the point across, is giving off selling vibes, or is distracting. They can coach you on your delivery and adjust what you’re saying for the audience. And they can tell you honestly where you’re going wrong. As any actor or reporter will tell you, it’s almost impossible to be objective about your own performance. You will judge yourself not enough, or too much. And you may not know how to fix it. The expert coach will.
A professional will also help you get value, to shoot several items at once and do it in a way to give your video multiple uses. By using a professional, you’ll be able to present not just the real you, but the best version of you. And that’s what sells.
